You’ll study the history of design, learning from the past while stepping into the future. A small class size and a practical curriculum ensure we will tap into your true potential and bring out your creative best!

The Graphic Arts program at South Hills is taught by faculty who are seasoned educators and working professional designers with experience in every facet of the field. Our teachers have designed web sites, publications, packaging, annual reports, advertising campaigns, corporate identities, CD packaging, and outdoor advertising. They have also worked as professional copywriters, art directors, and videographers.

At the end of the program, you will graduate with a versatile, well-rounded print portfolio and web site, ready to “hit the ground running” as you launch your career in the field of graphic arts.

To succeed in this program, you must be self-motivated, driven, creative, and receptive to constructive feedback, with a strong work ethic.

Careers in Graphic Arts

The world of graphic arts is continually evolving in step with technology. Career possibilities are expanding with advances in web site design, print-on-demand and digital offset printing, interactive and social media design, etc. Current job titles include:

Graphic Designer

Publication Designer

Web Designer

Multimedia Specialist

Newspaper Designer

Prepress Specialist

Production Artist

Art Director

Creative Director

Layout Artist

Graphic Artist

Each student completes a summer-long internship before graduation, providing real world experience. We have placed interns throughout Centre, Blair, Huntingdon, and Clinton Counties at locations including:

The Athletic Club

Barash Media

C. Barton McCann School of Art

Chamber of Business & Industry of Centre County (CBICC)

Colonial Press

Custom Creations

Graphics and Design

Headwaters

Huntingdon County Visitors Bureau

Impressions

KBB Realty

Keller Williams Realty

Magnum Broadcasting

Murphy Communications

North Club

Seven Mountains Media

Pennsylvania State University Press

South Hills Graphic Arts graduates are employed from Madison Avenue in New York City to Key West, Florida. Our graduates are designing web sites, magazines, yearbooks, maps, marketing materials, vehicle graphics, imprinted apparel, and advertising campaigns, and managing pre- and post-press printing. In addition to successful freelance careers, some of the firms employing our graduates include:

Meet the Faculty

Ray Liddick Jr.

Ray Liddick Jr., the Program Coordinator for Graphic Arts, has been an Information Technology and Graphic Arts Instructor at South Hills School of Business & Technology since 2004.

Ray is a graduate of Tyler School of Art, Temple University and has had MCSE (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer) accreditation. Ray has spent decades utilizing his IT and graphic arts creativity on the job. Outside of the school, he is the Marketing Media & IT Manager at Pneu-Dart, Inc., a global manufacturer of remote drug delivery, as well as being the Creative Director/Owner of Open Door Visions.

In the classroom and on the job, Ray applies his artistic vision and IT experiences to a wide range of projects including print design, web development, project management and IT infrastructure/networking.

Jim Colbert

Jim Colbert has been teaching in the South Hills Graphic Arts program since March 2008. He was formerly the Art Director at the Barash Group and has held similar positions at Murphy Communications, Graphics II and Glosser Bros./Gee Bee Corporate Advertising. He has won numerous awards through his career for his work in advertising, design, illustration and copywriting for clients including Penn State Hospitality, Nittany Bank, Altoona Hospital, Snappy's, Claster's and Benzel's.

A graduate of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, Jim currently is the principle at jimcolbertdesign.com and specializes in music- and arts-related print design and automotive illustration, as well as regularly designing advertising graphics and contributing to other marketing efforts for South Hills. Outside of school, Jim is an award-winning singer songwriter, a folk DJ, and heavily involved behind the scenes in the local and regional acoustic music scenes. He also coordinates the David Newman Gallery at Webster's Bookstore Café.

Rick Gority

Rick Gority, instructor for computer skills classes, has been teaching at South Hills School of Business & Technology since 2009.

Rick received a BA from Penn State University in Telecommunications. In conjunction with a close friend, he co-founded a web & graphic design company in 2000. Rick continued to develop his skills with hardware and networking support, which led to his career in the IT field.

When free time is available, Rick enjoys boating on Lake Raystown, brewing beer, and vacationing in the Outer Banks.

Luciano Sormani

Luciano Sormani is an adjunct instructor in the Graphic Arts program, teaching Photoshop and Packaging Design. He also works as a freelance designer based in Bellefonte, PA.

Luciano was born in Argentina and lived in the Netherlands for many years. He is a graduate of the South Hills Graphic Arts program, class of 2012, and has been teaching at South Hills since 2014.

As an artist, Luciano is interested in the juxtaposition of nature and technology; however, his work isn't restricted to that idea only. He often explores the worlds of color, landscape, and nature. His work has been exhibited locally at Schlow Library and Webster’s Bookstore Café, as well as in the Netherlands.